A Brief Moment of Paradise
by Kiba Sniper
Summary: Amy is alone in the Resistance's base after distress calls come in and separate the other members. She ponders and fears Eggman's looming domination while regretting her mistakes during the war. As Blaze arrives with coffee, Amy's loneliness and terror disperses. Blaze/Amy, canon divergence from Sonic Forces.


A Brief Moment of Paradise

Hazelnut cappuccinos were considered elegant by Vanilla. The warm milky froth mixed with vanilla half and half delighted her taste buds with a toasty brush. The smooth drink worked wonders during times of stress.

An assertive taste suited her personality, but she was silent. Amy cupped the cozy mug, gazing at her reflection in the faintly brown liquid. Steam rose and slightly blurred her vision. The frequent clicking of the monitors next to her became muted background noise. She caught sight of Vector's sweeping tail as it brushed along the floor when he ambled to check on the maps decorating the walls. A whispering conversation between himself and Espio added to the noise.

Amy rubbed her eyes. She gently brought the mug to her lips and blew away the steam. She heard Charmy enter through the main entrance with Knuckles at his side as they discussed something about the overrun Station Square.

Again, the comforting taste controlled her distress. She remembered Vanilla's honeyed voice reminding her about how to make excellent coffee during that peaceful time just months ago. Selecting the perfectly compatible syrups and creams became keen in creating superb coffee.

Amy drummed her fingers on the side of the wooden table. Charmy shuffled around her, buzzing and aiming for the boxes behind her. Vector shouted at him to be careful, to which Charmy reassured him that he would as he dug around the Wisp weapons. Amy peered over her shoulder, tempted to say something, but a yawn overtook her.

Frowning, Amy returned to her work and set the mug on the table. Amy glowered at the various screens illuminating on her two laptops. Dr. Eggman's forces were conquering more desolate areas each day. Currently, the Gigan Rocks was under siege, and Tails, Silver, and Rouge were battling the immensely powerful robots and the mysterious monster known as Infinite. She wished she could have joined them, but the throbbing pain in her elbow prevented her from doing so.

She glared at the bandage wrapped around left elbow. A faint purple bruise spread out from the tips of the slightly scarlet bandage. While the injury happened days ago, she was still irritated that she had lowered her ground enough for Infinite to strike her. Amy bit the inside of her mouth and took another swig off coffee, her thoughts melting away.

"Anyone hear from from our guys in the Gigan Rocks?" Knuckles demanded, dragging Amy back to reality. He held a communicator, thumbs tapping the screen.

"Unfortunately, I haven't received anything back from them," Amy announced, resting her communicator on the table. "There's nothing from G.U.N. either for Rouge."

"Maybe we should go out to them. The Gigan Rocks are being guarded by the Babylon Rogues, so perhaps they were bombarded before Silver and the others could reach them," Espio offered, and Charmy returned to his side, holding two Wisp weapons with eager aplomb. Espio immediately shot Charmy a wary glance while the bee gushed over the weapons to a bemused Vector.

Amy returned her gaze to the laptops. She stared down at her coffee, feeling her fingers moderately burn from the mug. She quietly waved her fingers, recalling Rouge's worry over Wave. While they only claimed to be rivals in jewel thievery, Amy's maidenly intuition suspected their mutual crushes on one another. Amy admired their sophistication, but she felt they should have been more open with each other instead of relying on flirtations. She tried chastising Rouge, but Rouge brushed off her concern, remarking Wave was perfectly fine with brazen trifling.

"I got an S.O.S from Rouge!" Vector blurted, and Amy flipped her head up, gasping. Vector quickly scrolled through his phone, mumbling to himself and then announced, "They got ambushed in Megalo Station! Infinite got 'em in a scrap before they could reach the Gigan Rocks!"

A frenetic beeping emerged from Amy's computer. Gasping, she hurriedly typed and brought up a message, shouting, "S.O.S from Jet! Eggman's sending in the Egg Carrier to shoot the Babylon Rogues' airship down!"

"That's horrible! We gotta save them!" Charmy cried, mounting one of the Wisp weapons onto his wrist. "All right! I'll head on over there and-!"

"You're too young and inexperienced to be using that, Charmy," Espio snapped, and Vector yanked the weapon away from Charmy.

As Charmy whined, Knuckles announced, "Listen up! The Gigan Rocks are one the last places to be completely spotless from Eggman's control. I'll head over to help Tails, Rouge, and Silver in Megalo Station. Vector, you and the Chaotix will use our extra Extreme Gear and fly on over to the Gigan Rocks."

"You got it, Knuckles! Let's go, boys! No time to waste or those birds are gonna be roasted!" Vector shouted, rallying his fellow detectives.

Amy watched them rush out the door, wishing them good luck. Hunching forward, she heaved a wary sigh and looked over to Knuckles. The guardian briefly peered at her and smiled.

"I hope you're okay with holding down the fort," Knuckles said, and Amy returned the grin.

"It's all good with me, Knuckles. You just make sure those three come back in one piece," Amy replied, winking.

Knuckles nodded, waving and leaving Amy to her quiet lonesome in the control room. Amy closed her eyes and felt a dull throbbing from her elbow. Grimacing, Amy bit her lip and pricked the loose bandage. Standing, she disregarded her mug and ambled over to the large map Vector had been inspecting.

The maps of the world were scoured with crimson marks signifying Eggman's domination. Eighty-five percent of the world had been utterly dominated by his monstrous forces. She could not imagine how many civilians were forced to submit to him, and she shamefully lowered her head, recalling how she failed. Even though the others consoled her, she still felt like she was to blame.

Vanilla, Cream, and Cheese were captured when Eggman conquered eighty percent of the world. Cream and Cheese boldly defended Vanilla as Infinite towered over them with ruby energy channeling between his serpentine fingers. Their home was burned to the ground, and Amy recalled the heavenly scent of pastries dying in the fire. Amy tried striking him from behind with his hammer, but Infinite snatched her elbow and thrust her into the flames. If Knuckles had not been there to grab her in time, she would have become one with the fire.

Amy dug her fingers into her palms. She gnashed down on her molars and briskly wiped her eyes. She hiccuped, comfortable in loneliness to cry. She felt as if everyone was slowly slipping from her. With a snap of Eggman's fingers, another one of her friends could have been snatched and tossed into one of Eggman's chaotic contraptions.

Her lukewarm tears melted into her cappuccino. Amy bit her lip and rested her forehead against the map. She thumbed her eyes, knowing she was only a lionhearted child in the middle of a war. Even though she had been through catastrophes because of Eggman, an entire global war was beyond her control.

Sonic always saved the day. It was expected and common. There were at times when Amy even perceived Eggman's scheming attacks as a daily nuisance.

The standard routine shattered around her in a mere moment. Sonic was captured, sequestered in an unknown base with his condition as completely unknown. Eggman swiftly commandeered an absolute takeover, leaving only the Resistance and the failing G.U.N to stand against his flurrying hailstorm. With Infinite's power, Amy feared it would be their undeniable loss.

As Amy quietly mulled her terror, the doors reopened. Amy straightened, peering over her shoulder and immediately relaxed. The scent of hazelnut cappuccinos cleansed her tumultuous thoughts. Amy rolled her shoulders back, smiling as the soft lavender princess emerged with two mugs of coffee.

"I hope they're good," Blaze offered, her heels clicking on the metal floor. "I tried to do make them just as Vanilla specified."

"I'm sure they're great. You're getting so skilled with each drink, Blaze," Amy said, and Blaze handed her a warm, smooth cup. "How's Marine? Have you heard from her?"

"She's with Big, Tiara, and Honey in Frog Forest. They've managed to save some villages, and the frogs are actually doing their part to help by casting rain to rust Eggman's machines," Blaze reported, and Amy's eyes widened in delight.

Amy leaned forward, exclaiming, "That's great! Even a little victory is so good!"

Blaze nodded, asking, "How's your arm?"

"Doing better! A little painful, but it's nothing I can't handle." Amy posed, lifting her leg and carefully bending her weakened arm.

Amy's chipperness always tugged Blaze's lips into a grin. Blaze returned with Amy to the twin laptops, and in unison, they sipped their coffee. Carefully glancing over to Amy, she closed her eyes as Amy uttered a delighted sigh.

Amy smacked her lips and inhaled the thick steam. She leaned against Blaze, resting her head against Blaze's shoulder. Blaze wreathed her arm around Amy's back, taking a sip of her creamy coffee. Amy was enamored with the warmth exuding from Blaze, feeling safe and sound. Her panicked thoughts seemed to melt with each sip and comforting rub on her back.

"I'm glad you're here. I'm so glad, Blaze," Amy whispered, keeping the mug to her chest.

"I am, too. We'll end this, Amy." Blaze reached for Amy's hand and squeezed it, and Amy smiled, immersing herself in sincerity. "We'll end it together."


End file.
